A Runaway Girl in RuneScape
by NoodleGorillaz23
Summary: Ronald and Avis find a runaway teenage girl in Varrock.She thinks that she's a freak because she's only half human and has pyschic powers, but she's in Varrock for a reason- and that is to slay the demon in the Edgeville Dungeon.
1. Raven

Ronald was walking through Varrock with his best friend, Avis. It was a calm, peaceful day- the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the town was quiet.

"Thanks for coming with me, Avis," said Ronald, grinning. "It's hard patrolling Varrock by myself."

"No problem, Ronald," said the 21 year old woman, her blue eyes sparkling. Ronald was a guard-and a poor one at that. The only thing he was told to do was patrol the town, which he never got much money for. His family was poor and it was all he could do to support them.

Suddenly, Ronald felt something hard hit his head. He turned around, desperately hoping that it was not a thief or mugger. They always got the better of him, stealing his money and other precious things-precious to him, anyway. His fears were confirmed.

"Hand over your money," said the thief, who was wearing a black cloak. He was probably from one of the gangs that were always hanging about the city. Ronald tried to look brave.

"What if I don't want to?" he asked. The thief grinned.

"You got no choice, mister," he said wresting Ronald's small money bag out of his hands. Ronald groaned. He had a bad habit of holding his money in small bag which he carried in his hands. His armour didn't have pockets!

The thief opened the brown bag and looked inside. "Not much in 'ere, eh? No matter. I'll be off, then." He ran away, chuckling. Ronald was frozen on the spot. He was too scared to go get his money back. Why was it always _him_?

"I'll go get it back, Ronald," said Avis confidently.

"No, don't!" yelped Ronald. "He'll hurt you!" Avis rolled her eyes.

"Watch me," she said. Just as she started to walk away, a horrible scream was heard from the alley the man had just walked into.

Ronald felt a bit scared. "What was that?" he asked Avis.

"No idea. Let's go find out!" she said rushing into the alley. Ronald had no choice but to follow her.

The thief was on the ground, his black eyes wide with fear. A blue-cloaked figure stood over him with its hand raised. The thief saw Ronald and Avis.

"Help me!" he squeaked. "I'll give you your money back, just help me!"

Ronald was always willing to forgive, but Avis wasn't.

"Why?" she asked, walking over to where the figure and the thief were. "Why should we help? You stole my friend's money."

"Please! It's going to kill me! It's death, that thing is! A demon from the darkest parts of Gielinor!" The thief was panicking, sweat pouring from his brow.

Then the figure spoke. "I'll let you go, if you give the man his money back." The person seemed to be a female.

"I will! I will!"

The figure motioned for Ronald to come and take the small brown bag that the thief was holding out to him. He stepped forward cautiously and snatched his bag away as though the thief would withdraw his hand at any moment.

With that, the thief got up and ran away, disappearing into another small alley.

"I suppose that that's where their hideout is," said Ronald, watching the black cloaked man scamper away. He looked at the spot where the figure had been. The person had disappeared!

"Where did it go?" he asked Avis. She looked around before suddenly pointing at a small house. A flash of blue whipped around the corner. Ronald was a very polite person. He always had to thank someone who had done something for him. He started to sprint after the flash of blue. They searched and searched, until they finally found the blue-cloaked person sitting outside the walls, staring into the distance.

"Hey!" said Ronald, sitting down next to the figure. "Thanks for helping me back there!" The person said nothing.

"Um…." Said Ronald. He felt rather confused. Was this person a ghost of some sort?

"Don't thank me."

Ronald jumped when the person spoke. Yes, it was definitely a woman.

"Why?" he asked.

"If you want to thank me, you can just leave me alone," said the blue-cloaked woman quietly. She got up and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" shouted Ronald. Ignoring Avis, who was telling him not to leave, he started following the figure at a sprint. Just as he was about to catch up, he tripped over a stone and fell, knocking over the woman as well.

"Argh!" she yelled.

Ronald got up. "I'm so sorry!" he said. He held out a hand to the woman, only to immediately withdraw it.

When she had fallen, her hood had come down. She didn't look human- she looked more like a hybrid of some sort! Her hair was a shade of dark blue. It didn't look as though it had been dyed by Falador's hairdresser- it looked _natural_. Her skin was much too pale, so pale that it looked rather blue. The most shocking thing was- this person was not a full-grown woman. She was a teenager, maybe 15. She looked outraged.

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" she roared, her green eyes blazing.

Ronald was rather taken aback by this outburst. And even though this girl was a teenager, she didn't really dress like ones he had seen in Varrock. She was wearing a black, full sleeved shirt and black trousers. There was also an ornate belt around her waist. The girls in Varrock wore small shirts and skirts. The girl didn't act like them either. She looked tense, worried and angry, while other girls giggled and smiled. Just then, Avis ran up.

"Ronald! I told you not to leave!" she said, shaking her brown curls out of her eyes.

The strange girl saw this as a chance to escape. She was about to make a run for it when Avis' strong hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Why won't you let me leave?" said the girl, sounding frustrated.

"We just want to know who you are," said Ronald, trying to sound gentle.

"I don't want to tell you. I don't want any help or thanks. I just want you to let me leave!" She tried yanking her shoulder out of Avis' grip. Avis held her tighter.

"Will you at least tell us you name?" she asked. Avis had a way with children that no one else did.

The teenager shifted slightly. "My name's Raven," she muttered, staring at the grass beneath her.

"Can you tell us where you're from?"

Raven didn't make eye contact. "Seer's Village," she said.

Avis smiled at Raven. "Why have you come to Varrock?"

"I don't want to tell anybody. You'll make me go back to Seer's Village. I don't want to go."

Ronald felt curious. Why did this girl not want to go back to her hometown? Why was she so far away from home, all by herself? Avis sat the young girl down. Then she seated herself next to her.

"Did something happen there?"

Raven said nothing, wrapping her cloak more tightly around herself. She tried to put her hood on, but Avis caught her hand.

"You can tell me anything, Raven. I won't laugh or tease you," she said. Raven took a deep breath.

"I ran away from my aunt's place. I live there, since mum and dad are dead. My aunt calls me a freak. And I am," she said, pointing at her face. "I also…" she looked down at the grass again.

"Yes?" asked Ronald.

"I also have psychic powers. There are a couple of people in the village who can see the future, but…I can do more. I can move things without touching them and sense things too. Things like that."

"That's not a bad thing," said Avis comfortingly.

"Yes, it is. You don't understand; I lose control sometimes, like when I attacked that thief. I'm not fully human," she murmured.

Avis decided not to press the poor girl further. "Do you have any idea where you're going?"

"No. I'll just wander about; maybe stay somewhere where I won't cause any trouble."

Avis smiled. "Would you like to stay at my place?" Raven looked stunned.

"Me?" she whispered.

Avis' parents were dead, too- she lived with and took care of her seven-year-old sister, Adrianne.

"Yes," said Avis.

Ronald doubted that Raven had ever been shown much kindness. The offer Avis was making was probably worth more than a thousand gold coins to her.

Raven accepted the offer.

Then the three of them set off for Avis' house, back inside the walls of Varrock.

_**Hi! I'm taking a break from my other RuneScape story for a while and continuing this one. I'm very sorry if this chapter was unsatisfactory. Please review and tell me how it was!**_

_**-Noodle**_


	2. Losing Control

It had been a week since Raven had moved into Varrock. Avis had given her a comfortable room, lots of kindness, and most importantly, the peace and quiet that the girl wanted. She never stayed inside for long. She would always dart out of the house and come back later in the evening. She wouldn't tell anybody, not even Avis, why she did this. She had even asked Avis not to bother cooking food for her, as it would cause her too much trouble, what with having to feed Adrianne as well.

Adrianne was Avis' younger sister. She looked very much like her older sister, with same curly brown hair and smile. However, she had hazel eyes instead of blue ones. It had been her elder sister's responsibility to take care of her after their parents had died.

One thing that bothered Avis was that Raven never had her hood down. She always wore it, keeping her face in shadow. When she was in the house, she rarely ever left her room, which was always dark and rather gloomy looking. One day, Avis had heard some muttering coming from the room. She looked through a crack in the door and saw Raven meditating, eyes closed and floating a few inches off the bed. Avis decided that she did this to keep her strange powers in control. She also wondered _what_ other species the girl had in her. Yesterday, she had told them that she was only half human. But what was the other half? Whenever Avis tried to ask her, Raven would cleverly maneuver her way around the question, changing the subject.

One day, after meditating for about an hour, Raven quietly left the house. It was a lovely evening, and the sky was a pleasant blue colour. The 15 year-old always went for a short walk on Erysail evenings. She loved the quietness of the small town, which reminded her of evenings at the Seer's Village.

A couple of teenage girls saw her just then. They had absolutely _nothing_ in common. When Raven saw this small group of giggling, chattering girls, she tried her best to slink away. She wasn't very good at teleporting- she could only teleport very short distances, and most of the time, she messed up. The supposed leader of the group, who had long, red hair, walked up to Raven, guessing that she was their age. She jumped in front of the hooded, quiet girl, smiling.

"Hi! I'm Tina Entiston. Would you like to join us?" she said, gesturing to the other girls.

"No thanks," muttered Raven, tried to move around the tall girl in front of her. She _hated_ large groups and felt sure that the girls would ask her to take off her hood and do girly things with them, like gossip and whisper and giggle. Raven hated girly things as well. Then, when they saw her face, they would scream and run away. She knew this from experience.

"Oh, come on!" said the Tina. "You'll have fun, I promise!" Then she caught Raven's hand and started to pull her towards the group enthusiastically.

This triggered something inside Raven. It suddenly clouded over her mind. She couldn't think any more. The only emotion left in her was _anger_. She was losing control, just like what had happened with the thief a week back.

She tried to fight it. She didn't want a bad reputation in this town as well.

Suddenly, she lost control over _everything_. Her mind and body didn't listen to her anymore. They only listened to the creature in her that was roaring with rage. Her eyes started glowing a dark blue colour. Her hood came off, revealing the malicious grin she now wore. Tina hadn't realized this. She was busy tugging Raven towards the group.

The other girls screamed and pointed. Then Tina turned around and saw that the quiet girl she had been pulling had grown in size. She gave a yell of surprise.

The now giant Raven smiled evilly. "What's the matter? Are you feeling _scared_ of me? Come now, let's see which one of you dies first."

Tina whimpered. "That is _not_ the same girl."

"It is," whispered another girl.

"Help me!" squeaked a third.

Then the whole group passed out.

Raven lifted her hand, which was surrounded by dark, crackling energy. She was about to zap the whole group, when she heard running footsteps behind her. She snarled and turned around, only to see Ronald. However, she could not recognize him in her current state.

"Raven! Stop! What are you doing?"

At the sound of her name, Raven gave a sharp gasp. Her eyes stopped glowing and she started shrinking until she was her normal size again. Then she passed out, just like the group in front of her.

Ronald ran towards her. He picked her up and started running to Avis' house. He wondered what had happened to the girl. Was this one of those times when she lost control over her powers?

He knocked sharply on the door. Avis opened it and gasped when she saw the girl in Ronald's arms.

"What happened?" she whispered, her eyes glued on Raven's limp body.

Ronald stepped inside and laid the girl on the couch. Then he proceeded to tell Avis the incident.

"Do you think she lost control?" asked Avis. Ronald nodded.

"I'll take her up to her room," he said. He lifted the girl and carried her up to her room. He couldn't help shivering as he looked around. The room was dark and dismal.

_This isn't what a child's room should be like, _he thought. He put Raven on her bed, giving her a small pat on her head. But as soon as he touched her, he recoiled, clutching his head. Memories-_Raven's _memories-seemed to be rushing through him.

He closed his eyes. An image seemed to be forming in his mind.

_It was a young girl, with pale, bluish skin. She had brilliant green eyes, and her hair was a shade of dark blue. It was Raven, probably at three or four years old. A beautiful woman swept into the room, smiling. She had black hair, green eyes exactly like Raven's, and tanned skin. She picked up the young girl and carried her out of the room, into another one._

_In this other room, there were many other people. They all had similar features to the woman, who Ronald assumed was Raven's mother. He guessed that they were family._

"_Come now, Rumira! Show us the child," called a young, dark haired woman._

"_It's a pity that her grandparents couldn't come from Catherby to see her," said another woman._

_At that moment, Rumira entered the room._

"_Here she is, the little angel!" she exclaimed proudly, holding Raven up for everyone to see. The effect was not quite what she had expected._

_Everyone screamed, squealed or exclaimed in horror. Rumira was shocked that her own family wasn't accepting her unusual child._

"_Here, Eri!" she pleaded, holding out the girl to the dark haired woman. "Hold her. She really is a darling…"_

_But Eri screamed and stepped back. One by one, all the guests exited, muttering under their breath and whispering to each other in disgusted voices._

_Rumira shut the door and sat down in an armchair, stroking Raven's hair._

"_It is not your fault, Raven," she murmured. "You will grow up to be a fine girl, I promise." The small girl beamed at her mother, though she did not understand the situation she was in. She did not know that people would shun her just because of the way she looked._

_The scene changed, and Ronald saw Raven again. She looked older, maybe thirteen; but she was also much skinnier and looked rather scrawny. She was crouching in a corner, reading a book._

_There was a woman, cooking something over a fire. She had brown hair, blue eyes and a horrible scowl on her face._

"_I should've come on that day when the rest of your family came to see you," she growled at Raven. "Then I wouldn't have agreed to take you under my wing. I would've known what an ugly, insolent girl you were then. I would've sent you to that orphanage. Now the village officials won't let me."_

_Raven looked up from her book._

"_I'm sorry, Aunt Elmira, but have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Then you would know what ugly means," she sneered._

_Ronald was shocked by Raven's cheekiness, but also rather impressed at the way she stood up to her horrible Aunt._

_Elmira looked up from her cooking, in a towering rage. She strode over to Raven and picked her up by the scruff of her neck._

"_NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME, GIRL!" roared Elmira. "IF YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU WON'T GET FOOD FOR A MONTH! UNDERSTAND?" Raven gave a quick nod and her Aunt dropped on the ground. Then the angry woman stalked off._

_Raven sighed. "It won't really make much difference if she doesn't feed me for a month," she muttered. "I barely get enough food in one day." She picked up her book and left the room._

_The scene changed again. This time, he saw Raven at her current age. She was packing food, clothes and other items into a small pack. When she was done packing, she slung the bag over her back and quietly went down the stairs. She clutched a large book in her hands._

_She opened the door and stepped outside. It was midnight. The stars were bright in the sky and a cold wind was blowing. Raven pulled the hood of her blue cloak over her head. She opened the large book and flipped it to the very last page. It said, 'Long Distance Teleportation.'_

"_Atra Moruni Ekrava No Sensura Nemura," she murmured, her eyes moving from word to word. "Ara Sen Tarei Avvarocka!"_

_A swirling blue vortex appeared in front of her. She stepped inside, and then the only thing Ronald could see were the dizzying swirls of blue that made the portal. _

_Finally, Raven reached her destination. The gates of Varrock were just ahead._

"_For the first time, it worked," she said quietly, with a hint of pride in her voice. Then she started trudging towards the gates._

Ronald's opened his blue eyes. His red hair was sweaty, as well as his forehead. He had fallen on the floor. He pushed himself up with a groan. Why had that happened? Why had he seen Raven's memories? It was all very confusing. Each detail of her life was vivid in Ronald's mind, from the time her family hadn't accepted her to the time she ran away from her Aunt Elmira's house.

He looked at the scrawny girl on the bed. She seemed to be shivering, so Ronald covered her with a blanket. He touched the part of her hand that was covered by her black, fingerless gloves. Then, he tried touching the uncovered part of her hand. Nothing happened. It seemed that he would see her memories only if he touched her head.

He grasped Raven's hand.

"You'll be all right with Avis and I taking care of you, Raven," she said to her. "I promise."

The girl moved slightly. Figuring that she would not be happy to see him in her room if she woke up, Ronald left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"What took you so long?" asked Avis. She was busy cooking. "And do stay for lunch, I've made some extra food for you to take to your parents as well."

Ronald smiled at her. "I was just talking to Raven," he said. "You know, I promised that we'd take good care of her and stuff."

"Oh," said Avis. "She's a nice girl, I like her. I made some food for her too. She always tells me not to bother about her, and that she'll find food on her own. I suspect that she goes to the Blue Moon Inn and has some of that horrible cabbage soup that their cook makes."

"She doesn't drink the beer, does she?" asked Ronald in alarm. Avis laughed.

"Oh, no," she said. "She comes back home looking rather tired, but she's definitely not drinking beer. And about lunch…?"

"Oh, yeah," said Ronald. "I just have to go and see someone first. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"Fine with me," said Avis, beaming at him. Then she turned back to her cooking.

Ronald left the house and started making his way to Gypsy Aris' tent. Maybe she would be able to help him understand Raven better. The young man reached the tent and pulled the flaps to the side.

"Hello?" he asked. "Gypsy Aris? Anyone home?"

**Hey! I hope you liked this chapter. Special thanks to Haseo the Terror of Death and Kina Kalamari for reviewing! You guys rock! Please give me your opinions on this chapter as well. I also wanted to add that Erysail is a day of the week in RuneScape. Thank you! Sayounara!**

**-Noodle**


	3. A Visit to Gypsy Aris

Ronald looked around as he stepped inside the tent. It was lit only by candles, which gave it a creepy and mysterious effect. Raven would love it here.

"Ah, Ronald. I'd been expecting you."

Ronald jumped violently. Behind him stood Gypsy Aris. Her long white hair fell over her shoulders and her face was painted around her eyes and lips. She did many services for the people of Varrock, telling the future and giving them advice. She was a very wise and old woman, as well as a psychic, which was why Ronald had gone to her for help.

"Good evening, Gypsy Aris," he said, smiling at her. "I'd like you to help me with something."

"And what is that?" asked Gypsy Aris, seating herself and gesturing for him to sit down as well.

"Well, Avis-you know, Avis Rodricks- and I found a teenage girl a week back," said Ronald.

Gypsy Aris looked interested. "Really?"

"Yes. But…She's not exactly _human. _She's told us that she's only half human. You see, she has blue hair and bluish skin too. She also has psychic powers," said Ronald. He felt rather guilty about giving away Raven's secrets, but he knew that this woman was probably the only one who would be able to help her.

"A psychic?" asked Aris. "What can she do?"

"She told us that she could move objects without touching them, as well as being able to sense things. Stuff like that. But sometimes, she loses control of her powers. That happened today."

What happened?" questioned Aris. Her hands rested on the glass orb in front of her-a crystal ball.

Ronald thought for a bit. He himself didn't know exactly what had happened himself, but he tried to guess. "I'm not exactly sure myself. I came just in time to stop her from killing this group of teenage girls. Her eyes were glowing a dark blue colour, and she had grown in size. It was like she wasn't herself anymore," he said, shivering at the thought of what might have happened if he hadn't stopped her.

Gypsy Aris looked very concerned. "Ah, yes. I sensed a disturbance this evening. Do you know what other species she is?" Ronald shook his head.

"No. Avis tells me that she never answers when she asks her. I can't even guess, because I've never seen anything like her before."

"Could you describe her again?"asked Aris. Ronald gave a detailed description of what Raven looked like.

"I think her mother was human," he said.

Aris thought for a while. After a few minutes, her eyes lit up. She smiled at Ronald.

"Have you ever been to a holiday event before, Ronald?"

"Um…I think so. I went for the Thanksgiving and Christmas events last year," said Ronald

"Well, I've got a friend who is possibly the same species as Raven," said Gypsy Aris. "You might meet her at a holiday event this year, too."

"Why can't you just tell me who is person is?" complained Ronald, rubbing his head. Stuff like this could really melt your brain. Gypsy Aris patted his arm.

"Your mind is like your body, Ronald. If you don't exercise it, it will become lazy. Your young friend Raven would understand," she said, her eyes twinkling at Ronald's confused expression.

"Er-right. Well then, I had better be going," said Ronald.

"Oh, and Ronald," said Aris. "I think that it would be good to teach Raven some other form of combat so that her own powers aren't the only thing she can resort to. It will keep her from losing control of herself too much." Ronald nodded in agreement.

Waving goodbye, he stepped out of the tent and started making his way back to Avis' house. He suddenly realized that they had focused more on what other species Raven was, rather than her powers. He supposed that whatever the other half of her was- or who her father was-had a connection to her powers and her losing control of them.

He knocked on the door. Avis opened it, frowning.

"You're very late," she said, letting him inside. "Raven is almost done eating."

The girl sat at the table, all by herself. Adrianne must have eaten early. To Ronald's surprise, her hood was down, revealing her blue-tinted skin and azure hair. She looked up at Ronald when he entered, her dull-looking jade eyes looking him up and down. Ronald felt rather sad, remembering those brilliant green eyes she had had when she was younger.

_Living with that horrible Aunt Elmira must have had a bad effect on her_, he thought.

She nodded slightly at him, then returned to her meal, which consisted of shrimp and a bowl of delicious looking broth. He sat down opposite her, while Avis brought him his own food.

After taking a sip of broth, he asked Raven, "How are you feeling?"

Raven nodded. "Better. What did I do?"

Ronald felt puzzled at this question. What did she mean?

"Um…What?" he asked.

"What did I do when I lost control?"

"Oh," said Ronald. He couldn't think of any way to put it so that Raven wouldn't feel bad. "Well, you nearly killed a group of teenage girls."

Raven sighed. "Are they all right?"

"Yeah, you didn't do anything to them. They passed out, though."

She gave another small nod. Ronald studied her closely, remembering what Gypsy Aris had told him. Someone from a holiday event, was it? He would have to try remembering last years' events.

He suddenly remembered something Gypsy Aris had told him just before he had left.

"Raven, would you like to learn another form of combat?" he asked. The girl looked up, surprised.

"Like what?"

Ronald thought for a moment. "Um, maybe something like archery, or sword-fighting. It's really all up to you."

Raven rested her head on her hands, looking down at her empty plate and bowl. "Sword-fighting sounds interesting. I saw adventurers in Seers' Village sparring with each other sometimes. It looked like fun."

Ronald nodded. "I could teach you, if you'd like."

It wasn't much of an option to send her to the official tutor in Varrock, who was also the captain of the King's guards. He disapproved of women fighting, which was why the guards could only be men. There was one woman, Aria, who badly wanted to join. As far as Ronald knew, the Captain had not taken her request into consideration yet.

Raven picked up her plate and bowl. "I don't have a sword, though. Is there anywhere close by where we could get one?"

"Oh, yes! It's right in Varrock, near the gates. I'll take you there tomorrow if you'd like."

Raven nodded once more, and then left to wash her plate and bowl. Ronald ate his food slowly, thinking about what he could teach her. He wasn't a very good swordsman himself-he had already been labeled as King Roald's worst guard. He wondered whether there was another teacher for her. It didn't matter if it was too far away from Varrock, as he had seen Raven teleport from Seers' Village to Varrock in about ten seconds. He finally decided to find another good teacher for her, maybe in Falador. As soon as he finished his dinner and taken some food for his parents from Avis, he went to the newspaper stall.

He bought a newspaper for 50 gold pieces. Then he sat down near the general store and opened it to the ad section. He hoped that he might come across a tutor for Raven somewhere.

After a few minutes, he finally found what he had been looking for. The ad read:

_Would you like some training in melee combat? If so, you have a chance to become the apprentice to Kamfreena, a blademistress and skillful female warrior._

_For more information, come to the Warriors' Guild, Burthorpe. _

The ad provided little information, but Ronald was delighted with his discovery. When he reached his house (which was a small cottage near the outskirts of Varrock) he gave the food to his elderly parents and then retired to his bedroom .

When he woke up in the morning, he left for Avis' house. He needed to take Raven to the sword shop today. Raven, it turned out, had already finished breakfast and was levitating small objects with a bored look on her face while Adrianne watched in amazement. It turned out that there was another reason that Raven wanted training in melee combat.

Raven had chosen to teleport to Varrock because there was something else she needed to do there. The creature that had killed her mother was a blood demon called Chronozon. Raven wanted revenge, as it was this demon's fault that she had had to go and live with her horrible Aunt Elmira, and that her lovely, kind mother had died. She intended to kill this demon, and wouldn't learning another form of combat help?

At that moment, Ronald walked into the room.

"Hello, Raven," he said, grinning at her. "Are you ready?"

Raven did not return the smile, but slowly lowered the floating object she had been levitating back to the table. She was wearing her blue cloak and hood today, as well as her usual attire of a black full sleeved shirt and trousers.

"Yes," she told him. "I'm ready."

The two of them made their way to the Varrock Sword Shop. They passed the same group of teenage girls that Raven had nearly killed the other day, and the young psychic made sure to wrap her cloak more tightly around herself.

When they reached the shop, which was right next to the main gates, the one-armed shopkeeper greeted them heartily and asked what they wanted.

"Ronald Starborn, eh? I suppose you'd like a new sword for yourself," said the shopkeeper, chuckling.

"Actually, no. My young friend here wants to learn the art of melee fighting, so we came here to buy a sword for her."

The shopkeeper turned to face Raven. "Ah, I see. And who would you be, my young friend?"

"Raven Nevar," she replied, wrapping her cloak tightly around herself.

"Hmmm," muttered the shopkeeper, searching the racks behind him. Then, he pulled out a short bronze sword and handed it to Raven. She tried wielding it, but then shook her head and gave it back to the shopkeeper.

"The hilt doesn't feel right in my hand," she said. The shopkeeper then pulled out a large, heavy-looking sword. Raven tried this one as well, but nearly dropped it.

"This one is too large," she grunted, struggling to put it back on the counter.

The shopkeeper studied her for a second, his face thoughtful beneath his red hood.

"I think I have the perfect weapons for you," he said. Ronald was puzzled. What did the shopkeeper mean by weapons?

The shopkeeper went to the very back of the shop and got out a large, black box. He set it on the counter and opened it. Ronald was amazed.

In the box, there were two long, slender swords. The blades were ice blue in colour, with ornate hilts. In the crossguards, there were glittering gems that changed between dark blue and black. The hilt was a very dark blue, almost black. There was also a sword belt of the same shade in the box.

Raven stared at it, her eyes widening. She had never seen swords like these before.

"Why are there two of them?" she asked, running her gloved hand over the glittering blade.

"These swords are meant to be used together," said the shopkeeper. "They may look delicate, but the blades are made out of ice from the Land of Snow, which never breaks."

"Land of Snow…" murmured Raven in a strange voice. Suddenly, a memory of last years' Christmas event rushed through Ronald's mind.

_The Land of Snow_, he thought. That was when he remembered the event. They had been told to build snowmen by the Queen of Snow! Wait a minute…

He looked at Raven, and then tried to muster up a memory of what the Queen had looked like. To his amazement, Raven showed a slight resemblance to her.

_I've just discovered what other species Raven is!_ He thought in delight. But now came the hard part; what species _was_ the Queen of Snow? He didn't remember. He would ask Avis later. How amazed she would be at his discovery!

The shopkeeper was rambling on about the twin swords.

"They're very good for slashing, and can be imbued with magic," he said. Raven didn't seem to be very interested. She had a pensive expression on her face, and she was tracing the blade with her finger.

"I'll take them," she said. "How much do they cost?"

"A thousand gold pieces," said the shopkeeper.

Ronald was surprised when the young psychic fished out a small bag, took out the money and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"Don't tell anyone," she muttered to Ronald. "Let's just say I borrowed a bit of money from my aunt the night I ran away." Ronald grinned and nodded, imagining the aunt's reaction when she saw that some of her money was gone.

"I won't tell a soul," he whispered back.

Raven then fastened the sword belt around her waist and put the two swords in it.

"Thank you," she said to the shopkeeper. Then the two of them left the shop.

Ronald suddenly remembered the ad in the newspaper. He told Raven what he had read, and asked if she could teleport them to Burthorpe. Her face turned paler than it already was.

"I'm not good at teleportation," she said. "I almost always mess up."

"Could you try?" Ronald pleaded, not keen on walking the full distance. He had heard that there were a few highwaymen on the way, and he did_ not_ want to be robbed again.

Raven took a deep breath. "All right, I'll try. Just give me a moment."

She closed her eyes and reached into thin air. Ronald was confused. Was this a part of teleportation?

Then, the girl's hand seemed to disappear. She groped around for a few moments, and then pulled out a thick book-the same book she had used to teleport to Varrock.

"How did you do that?" asked Ronald in amazement.

"I store a few of my belongings in the astral plane. That way, nobody can steal them and I don't need to carry a lot of things around with me. Understand?"

"Um, no," said Ronald. He didn't even know _what_ an astral plane was!

Raven opened up the book to a page that said 'Burthorpe Teleport.'

She started to chant, and then the whole world seemed to fade away as the two of them entered the swirling blue portal.


End file.
